Report: Barton, Cornyn, Cruz rake in big dollars from fracking firms

Environmentalists has protested the expansion of hydraulic fracturing efforts in places like Pittsburgh, above last month, but less so in Texas, where the natural gas drilling boom there and elsewhere has mean a bonanza for drilling companies. AP Photo/Keith Srakocic

Update: 3:46 p.m. EST: We’re reached out to Cruz, Cornyn and Barton, of course. Spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said Sen. Cruz is grateful for these contributions and others. (For other responses, as they come in, see bottom of post.)

The Senator is grateful for the many Texans and Americans from all professions and backgrounds that financially supported his campaign and showed faith in the principles he campaigned on. Texas is blessed with an abundance of natural resources that form an important part of the Texas economy, supporting thousands of good paying jobs.

“The energy renaissance taking place across the US is one of the few bright spots in the American economy—with Texas leading the way. The Senator maintains his position that states should have sole responsibility for the regulation of fracking and supports continued efforts by the private sector to develop America’s oil and gas resources to create jobs, help the economy, achieve American energy independence, and improve the quality of life for Texans and all Americans.

WASHINGTON — The fracking industry is spending big to expand its reach into oil and gas fields across the country, including massive deposits in Texas. It’s also spending big to woo support from Texans in Congress, especially its two senators and Rep. Joe Barton.

A new report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, shows that donations to lawmakers’ campaigns jumped almost three times, from $4.3 million in 2004 campaigns to almost $12 million in 2012. Unsurprisingly, the report shows the sharpest increase was to lawmakers from districts and states home to fracking activity. (For a full list of lawmakers and how much they received from the fracking industry, see here.)

The largest recipient of the largesse has been Rep. Joe Barton, who led the House Committee on Energy and Commerce from 2002 to 2006, when the GOP lost the majority. During that time, he sponsored the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which exempted fracking companies from the Safe Drinking Water Act. Between 2004 and 2012, companies donated $509,000 to Barton’s campaigns, more than any other member now serving in Congress.

Maybe the biggest surprise, though, is how much Sen. Ted Cruz has received from fracking companies — and how fast. In a single campaign, his 2012 bid for office, Cruz took in $295,000 from companies. Like most Republicans, and most senators from fracking states, he’s on record as opposing additional federal regulations for fracking.

Sen. John Cornyn, part of the Republican leadership in that chamber, received $312,400.

The natural gas boom is part of an energy expansion that most economists say has helped Texas’s economy outperform every other state in the country over the past several years. Fueling that boom, and the larger growth in energy, has been a series of technological and geological breakthroughs that has put previously untouchable energy reserves within the reach of companies willing to spend big to harvest the resources.

Hydraulic fracturing is one such method, and it has open vast amounts of natural gas and oil to potential recovery.

Environmental critics have cited a string of worries from the muscular energy push, however, ranging from worries about tanker spills like the Deepwater Horizon tanker spill in the Gulf in 2006, to the impact of thousands of new natural gas wells being exploited in North Dakota.

Defenders of the industry note that there has never been solid proof that a well has contaminated a drinking water source, and have pushed back against activists’ calls for greater federal regulation. (Impact on water supplies, however, has been a cause of concern for some.)

Interior Secretary Sally Jewel and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy have both said the government continues to study the risks and benefits associated with fracking, and could announce new rules within a year. They both say, however, that fracking will continue to be allowed.

Energy companies are doing what they can to help elect lawmakers, like Cruz, Cornyn and Barton, who have been outspoken in their support of hydraulic fracking.

Sean Brown, a spokesman for Rep. Barton, stressed the importance of natural gas to Texas’ economic future, and the nation’s.

“Clean burning natural gas is the number one thing fueling America’s economic recovery by creating millions of jobs and providing affordable energy. This energy and employment boom wouldn’t be possible without the technological advances of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.

“Since the day he was sworn into office, Congressman Barton has proudly supported those who work in this industry (many of whom call the 6th District home) and he will continue to do so. That is why people continue to vote for Joe Barton and donate to his campaigns.”

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